The recovered alcoholic testified at zoning hearing on proposed facility on Dewberry Avenue.

January 26, 2012|By Charles Malinchak, Special to The Morning Call

Former Phillies pitcher Dickie Noles, a recovering alcoholic who is now a crisis counselor for team members, told the Bethlehem Zoning Hearing Board that a proposed drug and alcohol rehabilitation center would pose no threat to the neighborhood and those seeking treatment are a lot like people they already know.

Noles, who was a relief pitcher for the Phillies in the 1980 World Series against the Kansas City Royals, testified Wednesday on behalf of Whitehall developer Abe Atiyeh, who wants to convert a vacant church on Dewberry Avenue into a 70-bed, for-profit drug and alcohol rehabilitation center.

City zoning allows such facilities as a special exception. Atiyeh's quest to gain the exception has entailed six nights of hearings, which have drawn harsh criticism from residents and officials at nearby Bethlehem Catholic High School.

Opponents fear the facility, have charged it would bring an unsavory element to the neighborhood, causing harm to children and students, but Noles testified those concerns are unfounded.

As the Phillies' employee assistance professional, Noles counsels players, including those on the Lehigh Valley IronPigs Triple-A team, in areas such as substance abuse and addiction.

Pointing to the audience of more than 30 in Town Hall, he said one in four will experience or deal with someone close with an addiction problem.

When an audience member asserted the Dewberry Avenue facility would be full of criminals, he said that would be untrue, adding, "They are addicts coming for help.''

"I feel like the stigma attached (to addiction) is so large. Like this is a prison being built in your backyard,'' he said.

When asked if the facility is misplaced or should be located elsewhere, he said, "No. I can't think of one place.''

He was also asked if he would send players to the facility, to which he said, "I absolutely would.''

Noles' alcoholism peaked in 1983 while he was on the Chicago Cubs. He and a teammate, both drunk, assaulted a police officer. Soon after, he entered an alcohol rehabilitation center that led to sobriety and a change of life.

"Till I'm dead I'll be an advocate of treatment ...I went in (to treatment) in 1983 and it turned my life around ... I have now dedicated my life to helping others,'' he testified.

Also in the three-hour testimony line-up was West Rockhill Elementary School Principal Donald Muenker, whose school near Sellersville is next to a drug and alcohol treatment facility called the Penn Foundation.

Muenker testified there has never been any problems with patients who have full view of the 420-student school with no fence dividing the two facilities.

In previous testimony, witnesses for what would be called the Malvern Institute-Lehigh Valley said the proposed facility would serve only people who can pay for treatment, either through insurance or out of pocket, and who usually have jobs and intact families. They also said security personnel who are either current or retired police officers will be on duty at night.